Method of packing and preserving plug-tobacco



J. PETERSON.

METHOD OF PACKING AND PRESERVING PLUG TOBACCO.

APP1ICAT|0N FILED APR.II,19Z1.

Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES A ENT, 'orrls. 7

JONATHAN PETERSON, or BROOKLYN, Nnw -YOnx,.Ass1eNOR- To COMBINATION nacnmn COMPANY, 01 New YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or nnmwann.

. mn'rnon on liacxrNe AND rmsnnvmerwe-monacco.

To allwkomc't may concern:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN PETERSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of' Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of'Packing, and Preserving Plug-Tobacco,

many disa vantages, prime among of which. the. following is a spenificatlon.

This invention relates to a method of packing and preserving tobacco plugs or cakes and to the plug package resulting therefrom, and has special reference to the provision 'of .a plug package especially adapted for the retailjtrade which may be handled and sold in individual units, each plug unit being kept in a preserved state as regards its moisture content, flavor and other properties up to the time of consuming use. J

A common. method hitherto employed in packaging tobacco plugs or cakes has involved the packaging of a large quantity of plugs in caddies or large cases made of expensive wood stock and especially constructed to preserve the plugs against deterioration from the elements. In Order to reduce the cost of packaging per unit plug it has been the. practice to package a large number of plugs in a single case, some cad-' dies containing as many as 48 pounds of tobacco plu which has been the inabilit to successfully cater to the demands of t e small retail dealers who find it inconvenient and moreover uneconomical to handle large stocks of an article for which there may be a relatively small, call, the plugs when kept in stock for some period of time after the case or'package is first opened being subject to relatively rapid deterioration, such plugs losing their moisture content, flavor and other desirable properties and becoming dry and brittle when open to air and atmospheric moisture. A prime desideratum of my present invention therefore involves the ackaging of plug tobacco, the smallest sala le unit of which is preservedly packaged tobe handled as an individual unit 'and sold to the consumer as such, each' plug unit being so packed as to be preserved against action by the elements,

the plug being kept in its original state up to the time of its consumption.

Tobaccoplugs are usually made andsold 1n compressed or compacted blocks,each un t This procedure has involved or block comprising a tobacco leaf filler cov cred by a leaf wrapper.

I I have found it desirable to preserve each block or unit by packing such block or unit in a wrapper impervious to air or moisture, theunit block eing so inclosed by the wrapper that all air pockets are ironed out and eliminated, the wrapper being then sealed against entry of air or moisture.- A package made up of a plug-provided with an impervious wrapper such as a wrapper having a coating of parafiin or wax; the wrapper and plug being Specification 0! Letters Patent, Patented Nov. 29, 1921. Application and A ril 11, 1921. serial No. 490,602. I

compressed or compacted into a unit, the;

wrapper-adhering closelyto the faces of the packet, has been found highly efiicient for this purpose. In producing such a package, however, it is desirable not to in ure the tobacco product packages, as the preservation of the plug, especially the preservation of the wrapper leaf in undamaged condition isga factor in keeping the product in a preserved state. Furthermore, it is desired to so inclose the plug that the wrapper will adhere to the face of {the plu sticking thereto and withouta ecting the cohesion between the tobacco leaf wrapper and the filler inclosed thereby, the plug being removable from the wrapper without the without necessity of having to strip the wrapper,

from the unit plug; such a construction permittingthe obtaining of a plugin undam aged or unmutilated form for consuming use My presentinvention therefore further comprehends the provision of a plug package in which the wrapper adheringly fits the packaged plug without stlcking thereto, the package not only being preserved against action .by the elements, but being kept in undamaged cond1t1on and being obtainable in a fresh and unmutilated state when required for consuming use.

objects of my invention 1 The principal besides the provision of therefore include,

a plug package which maybe handled and i sold to the consumer as a packaged unit, the provision of such a package 1n @VhlCh each plug or cake is kept in v state up to the time of itsflconsumptlon; the provision ofsuch perviously sealed against the elements plug being enveloped by a wrap er adhering to all the faces of the p ug for the elimination of air pockets, wrapper not affecting the integrity of the packaged plug commodity, the further proeach.

closely a fully preserved a package whlch is im the imperviousand the preserve vision of such a package inclosedin a plurality of enveloping wrappers so related as to efiect an impervious seal at all wrapper joints not only, but between wrapper faces, the plug commodity being kept free from the impervious wrapper coatings and the provision of such a package in which the unit is assembled and packed by simple manufacturing steps to keep the cost of packaging down to a negligible quantity.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such. other ObJQCtS as may hereinafter ap pear, my invention consists in the elements and their relation one to the other, as here inafter particularly described and sought to be defined in the claims, reference losing had to the accompanying drawings which 'show a preferred embodiment of my invention and in which: 7

Figures 1 to 6 show the various operative steps of packagin, the lug tobacco product 5. pac age resulting therefrom.

My invention is applied to tobacco products put up in plugor cake form, such plug tobacco products usually taking the form of compressed or compacted rectangular blocks having a tobacco leaf filler 10 covered by a tobacco leaf wrapper 11. My in vention contemplates the packaging of such.

. plugs in a wrapper or plurality of wrappers enveloping the same to provide an individual plug package imperviously sealed against action by air or moisture. Toascomplish the desired end 1 provide a wrap: per such as 12 of .a size which, when folded about the faces on walls of the plug, will on i velop and seal all the faces'of such plug ations, which may be acco-mplishe against atmospheric influences.

In order tofacilitate the paoka ing operd by; hand, li contemplate the preforming or prefolding of the wrapper by simple apparatus, the

prefoldingbeing along such lines that when the plug .is inserted in the wrapper, the wrapper may be foldedthereover by hand operation with facility,-the wrapper falling into enveloping formation along the folds and creases provided therein. In thismam ner not only isthe packaging operation facilitated, minimizing the cost of packaging, but a wrapped packet is provided in which the wrapper faces form a tight fit over the faces of the plug, this being one of the requirements in securing a. preserved plug package, as will presently ap'pearn'To accomplish these features and results I there fore prefold the wrapper 12 along the lines 13, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, this 'prefolding resulting in a wrapper having a bottom 14, side wings 15 and end folds 16.

With a prefolded wrapper of this nature the packing operation consists as a first step in placing the plug 10 in the wrapper 12, with the bottom faceof the plug 10 in 1,ses,eeo

contact with the bottom face 14 of the wrapper, the prefolded wrapper serving to properly center the plug therein. The wrapper wings 15 are then folded over the top faces of the plug,as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the end fold it being then folded 1n overlappingrelation, resulting in the forma.

plug being, furthermore, centrally located in the wrapper, the providing this feature.

To the end of securing a sealed package impervious to air or moisture, I provide a wax or paraffin coated wrapper, the wrapper being preferably provided with such a coating on one of the faces thereof, as shown at 17 in the drawings. After the wrapped packet, as shown in Fig. 3, is ob-. tained, the combined plug and wrapper is compacted or compressed preferably under application of heat, this compression or compacting being such as to cause the interior faces of the Wrapper to adheringly envelop the faces-of the plug to the end that all interior air pockets be substantially eliminated. lt hasbeen found that byeliminating all such air pockets between the wrapper faces and the plug faces, that the plug may be preserved in packaged form for a considerable length of time. The compression or compacting operation preferably under prelolding operation application of heat also effects/the welding joints, such as shown at 18 in Fig.3 of the drawings. In this manner I provide a package in which the enveloping wrapper adheringly fits the packaged plug, with. the consequent elimination of all air pockets and in which the wrapper forms an im-.

pervious coating over the faces of the plug not only. but all the wrapper joints are imperviously sealed against entry of any air or moisture.

It is desii'able inpackaging such'a commodity as tobacco. plug products, that the compacting or compressing operation and "the use ofthe impervious wrapper,have no deleterious efieots on the packaged 'plu'g' commodity. It is desirable, for example, that the plug, even after the packaging and compressing operations, remain in an unv damaged or unmutilated state. It is de-' sired that the tobacco wrapper 11 of'the plug remain intact and undamaged and that.

the enveloping wrapper 12', although the .faces of such wrapper adheringly envelop the faces of the plug, that such. wrapper faces should not stick to the plug faces to.

the end that when the wrapper seal is v broken for purposes of plug consumption,

that'the plug1 should be removable from the wrapper wit out the necessity of stripping the wrapper therefrom, it being further desired that the plug so removed should be found'in a whole and undamaged state. To

this end I have provided a wrapper l2 having onlya single coating of wax or parafiin 17, such coating of wax or 'parafiin being only on the outer walls of the wrapper 12. The interior faces of thewrapper; 12 remain unco-ated, and such faces may be compressed the provision of sucla a packaged product oute without further wrapping operations, I have found it desirable for reasons which will ppear presently to provide a-second or i wrapper for enveloping the packaged product shown in said Fig. 3. To this end I prefer to providean outer wrapper 19 shown in Figs. 4 to 6 of the drawings, such wrapper being also preformed or prefolded in r a manner similar to the wrapper 12' as described above and as shown in Fig.4 of the drawings. The wrapper 19 is alsoprovided with an impervious coating such as wax or several desirable advantages.

parafiin, this impervious coating being pro- 'vided on the inner faoesof the wrapper 19,

such as shown at20 in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings. The provision of such a wrapper 19 having an impervious coating-on the interio faces thereof has been found to have In the first place, the use of two enveloping wrappers provides a multiply formation offering bet-"- ter preservation for the packaged plug. In the second place, by having an outer wrapper with an. impervious coating on the interior faces thereof in combination with an inner wrapper having the impervious coatbreak loose.) .The provision of a wrapper ings the outer faces thereof, aconstruction is provided wherein the "impervious coatings lie face to face, I so .that when the multiply package iscompacted or compressed, especially under ap'piication of .'heat,"the impervious coatings on adjacent wrap er faces will weld together, forming an e cient hermetically sealed container for the lug. It sometimes occurs thatduring han; ling of a package 'such'asshown in Fig. 3 .of the-drawings, that the sealed joints,

cfinstruction such as shown in Figs. 4 to 6 of I t e drawings, however, provides a container having adjoining faces so welded together that even in the event of the wrapper joints unsealing, an efliciently sealed container still remains. Another advantage in provid ing a wrapper such as 19 having the imper- VlOllS coatlng only on one face thereof, such face being the interior face of the wrapper, is that the outer faces of the wrapper have no wax coating and may be handled with greater ease. Thus a package such as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings may be compressed V or compacted with greater facility, the outer wrapper surface of the package having no tendency to stick to any of the compressing apparatus. suchpackages may be stacked together Furthermore, a plurality of I without liability of the envelo ing wrappers of one package sticking or a hering to the enveloping wrapper of an adjacent package.

In packaging the plugv and outer wrapper within the lnner wrapper, the prefolding of the inner wrapper 19 will also serve to properaly center and position the plug and inner wrapper, the wings 21 and the end folds 22 of the outer wrapper 19' being folded in overlying relation'similar tothe folding of the plug within the inner wrapper, the folded, and packed construction being shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Although I may insert the plug and the inner Wrapper in any manner in the .outer wrapper, it is pre-- ferred to so place the plug and innerwraperwithin the said outer wrapper that the 'olds 16 of the inner Wrapper overlie the bottom face of the outer wra per, .as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4 o the drawings. The wrapped. formation shown in Fig. 6 is then also compacted or compressed similar.

to the compressing or compacting of the forination' shown in Fig. 3, the characteristics of the wrapped package shown in Fig. 6, in addition-to being similar to that shown in Fig.3, providing. also the advantages pointed out above flowing from the use of an exterior or outer enveloping wrapper. of such wrapped packages may bealso provided with an adhesive band such as shown at 23 in Fig. 6, the outer unwaxed faces of the outer-wrapper permitting the applica-- 'tion' of such an adhesive strip or band23.

Each

It will be apparent from the foregoingv that I have provided a sealed plug package. 'which may be handled and sold in" individual units instead offbeing handled loose as in prior practice, sucha packa e eliminating the packing of lugs in ca dies or large containers with t e disadvantages eonse uent thereto, my packed plug being especia ly adapted to the demands of the small retail dealers not only, but providing, furthermore, a sanitary package much sought for bythe consumer, The plugis so packed so that all air pockets are eliminated, the in-.

terior wrapper faces closely adhering to the faces of the plug, sealing the same against) atmospheric influences. -Each plug is completely inclosed with the wrap or joints or junctions welded together, ma ing an impervious package. wax or paraffin coatin is provided only on the outside thereof, this presenting a package in which the wrapper faces may influence.

tained with the outer surfaces of the outer Wrapper uncoated so that a plurality ofwrapped packets may be compressed or comclosely adhere to the faces of the plug without sticking, the plug being removable in a Whole or undamaged state when desired for use, the integrity of the plug being thus I preserved; By the use of a double Wrapper I provide a multiply protection in which the weld between wrapper faces covers .all the faces of the packet making for an impervious packagewhich can be roughly handled and remain sealed against atmospheric Furthermore, a package 1s .ob-

pacted without ad acent ackages being welded together, thus eliminating sticking between the wrappers of adjacent units. .Each 'acket therefore forms aseparable unit w iich may be handled as such by the ingly enveloping the faces of the plug and trade.

I claim: 1. A package of plug tobacco comprising a plug of tobacco and a wrapper inclosing the same, the wrapper having an impervious coatingon its outer face and folded and compressed about the lug so that opposed coated faces adhere formin a substantially air-sealed closure for the p ug.

2.; A package of plug tobacco comprising a plug or cake of tobacco and a wrapper inclosing the, same, the wrapper having an imlpervious coating ofpara n on one face on y compressed So that interior wrap or faces adhere to the faces of the plug an opposed coated faces adhere to each other form ng a substantially air-sealed closure for the plug. 3. A package of plug tobacco comprising a plug'or ca e and wrappin means hermetically inclosingthe same; t c said wrapmg' means compris ng an inner wrapper avlng an impervious coating on the outer faces thereof and an outer enveloping wrapper'having an impervious coating on-the insai The interior wrapper.

and being folded about the plug and ner faces thereof, the lug and wrappers comprising'a' compresse or compacted unit in which the opposed coated faces of the wlrappers adhere hermetically sealing the l Y LA packa e of lug tobacco comprising a plug orca e and wrappin means hermetically inclosing the same; t c said Wrappln means comprising .an inner wrapper havmg an impervious coating such as wax or paraffin on .the outer faces thereof and an outer enveloping wrapper having a similar coating on the inner faces thereof, the inner faces of the inner wrapper adheringly enveloping the faces of the plug, andthe opposed coated faces of the wra pers adhering to provide an hermetical y sealed packal'ge. f

5'. he method of packing and preserving tobacco plugs which comprises packing a plug or cake in an enveloping wrapper; the wrapper being provided with an impervious coatlng such as wax or paraffin on the outer faces only thereof, compacting or compressing the plug and wrap or into a unit with the interior wrapper aces adheringly enveloping the faces of the plug and the op-.

posed wax or p'arafiin coated faces of the wrapper adhering whereby an hermetically sealed plug packa e is provided, the plug being removable after breaking the seal in whole and undama ed condition.

6. The method o packing and preserving tobacco plugs which comprises prefolding an impervious wrap or to fit a tobacco plug or cake, in then pac ing the plugor cake in the wrapper, the wrapper completely en veloping the plug, in then compacting or compressin the plug and wra per into .a unit'with t 6 interior wrapper aces adher- I the wrapper; the wrapper completely enveloping the plug, the wrapper being provided with an impervious coating such as wax or paraffin on the 'outer faces only thereof, compacting or compressing the plug and wra per into a unit -wlth the interior wrapper aces adheringly enveloping the faces of the plug and waxweldin the 4 wrap or joints, whereby an h'ermetica ly sealed p ug package is rovided, the plug ltein removable after reaking the seal in w ole and undamaged condition.

8. The method of packing and preserving tobacco plugs which comprises acking a lug or cake in an inner wrapp'er aving an 1m ervious' outer coating, enveloping the pl g and wrapper in an outer wrapper having an impervious inner coating, the imcohering to provide an hermetically sealed pervious wrapper coatings being face to face, in then compressing the plu and wrappers into a compacted unit where y an hermetically sealed impervious plug package is provided.

9. The method of packing and preserving tobacco plugs which comprises packing. a plug or cake in an inner wrapper havmg an ugipervious outer coating such as wax or para n, enveloping the said plug and wrapper in an outer wrapper having a similar impervious inner coating, the lmpervi ous wrapper coatings being face to face, in

then compressin the plug and wrappers into a compacte unit in such manner that the interior faces of the inner wrapper adheringly envelop the faces of the plug, andthe opposed impervious wrapper-coatings package. 7

10. he method of packing and preserving tobacco plugs which comprises prefolding inner wrappers having an impervious coating on the'exterior faces thereof, prefolding outer wrappers having .an impervious coating on the interior faces thereof, packin a plug or cake in the inner wra per, enve oping the plug and wrapper in t e outer wrapper, the impervious wrapper coatings ew York, this 8th lying face to face, in then compressing the I plug and wrapper into a compacted unit 

